Alabama Defense Steps Up after Shaky Start to Shut Out Vanderbilt in Second Half

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.—  The "fire Kane Wommack" tweets were rolling off the fingers of Alabama fans after the first half of the Crimson Tide's matchup with Vanderbilt inside Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday. After all, his defense had done the exact thing he deemed "unacceptable" during his Monday press conference by giving up an explosive 65-yard touchdown run to Sedrick Alexander on Vanderbilt's first possession.

No. 10 Alabama and No. 16 Vanderbilt were tied at halftime, but the Crimson Tide defense stepped up to shut out the Commodores in the second half on the way to a 30-14 victory to improve to 4-1 (2-0 SEC) on the season.

After putting up 214 yards in the first half, Vanderbilt mustered just 109 in the second half. The Commodores got the ball to start the third quarter, and it felt like that drive was going to set the standard for the way the rest of the game was going to go.

The Alabama defense got a stop, and then got a stop again on the next possession.

"We knew we had to come out and start fast, set the tone," Alabama defensive lineman and team captain Tim Keenan said after the game. "It was just mindset. Momentum carries— so the defense goes out there and gets the stop, offense gets the ball rolling. It’s good team ball going on."

The Alabama offense scored a field goal on its first possession of the second half to go up 17-14 for its first lead of the game, and the Crimson Tide never relinquished that lead.

Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer said up until this game, he had been pleased over the last few outings with the way the defense came out of the locker room to start the game. That wasn't the case against Vanderbilt as the Commodores scored on their opening possession and then drove right down the field on the next possession as well.

The coaches and players had a "come to Jesus" meeting on the sideline after the first drive according to Keenan.

"Nah, this is not how it’s fixing to go," Keenan said. "I don’t know what needs to be happening, but we cannot go out like that. We know what’s been going on. We’ve been practicing all week. We know what we gotta do, so let’s just execute.”

Vanderbilt was knocking on the door of going up 14-0 when Justin Jefferson punched out the ball in the red zone, and Keenan pounced on it for the fumble recovery to keep the Commodores off the scoreboard.

"That was my first turnover I had in Bryant-Denny, so I’m excited about that," Keenan said. "Those are big game-changers."

Vanderbilt was able to take advantage of good field position after a bad Alabama punt, taking over at the Crimson Tide 38 with a little less than six minutes to go in the first half. The Commodores were able to convert three critical third downs on the drive, and Alexander got his second touchdown of the day on a four-yard reception to go up 14-7. Fortunately for the Tide, quarterback Ty Simpson answered with a drive of his own to tie it up going into the half at 14-14.

All week long in the leadup to the game, Alabama coaches and players talked about how much Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia had improved as a passer. Pavia and the Commodores had basically moved the ball at will on the Tide for six straight quarters dating back to last season's victory in Nashville, but it was a different story in the final two quarters on Saturday.

"I thought we played hard-nosed," DeBoer said. "Loved the way we finished the game in the second half, just controlling really the line of scrimmage more and more as the game went on on both sides of the ball. Held them to 20-something [rushing] yards over really the last three quarters. Really proud of the way the guys responded.”

After picking up 69 rushing yards on Vanderbilt's opening possession, Alexander only had seven more for the remainder of the game. Pavia finished 21-of-35 for 198 yards and an interception with 58 rushing yards on 12 carries. He only had four incompletion in last season's win over the Crimson Tide.

Despite the strong play from the defense, the Alabama offense was unable to build up a big lead, stalling in the red zone multiple times. The Crimson Tide led just 20-14 heading into the fourth quarter. The Commodores were driving down the field with the chance to take the lead with around 12 minutes to go when Keon Sabb snagged an interception to kill the drive and Vanderbilt's momentum.

"We just had a good call," Sabb said. "Coach put me in the right position. I just did my job, and the ball ended up hitting me right in the chest."

A field goal with 4:08 to go narrowly put Alabama up by two scores, 23-14. The dangerous Vanderbilt offense got the ball back needing to score twice. It appeared Zay Mincey sealed the game with an interception, but it was overturned after Alabama got called for a holding penalty. Despite the quick momentum swing, the Tide defense was able to get a stop on fourth-and-21 that secured the second-half shutout and victory for the Crimson Tide in front of an electrified home crowd.

"Really coming back out of the locker room, I was really proud of the way the defense… There definitely was some adjustments I know we made in the second to third quarter that lead to what we’re doing," DeBoer said. "That’s part of Plan A and Plan B and Plan C that you have when you’re working throughout the week. You put those things in, and you have them ready to go. You’ve got to change it up because you’ve got good players on the other side, too, that are going to attack you if you just sit in the same thing. I thought our guys understanding the other part of the game plan, and then going and executing it. I was really proud of them.”

Vanderbilt came into the game with the No. 4 scoring offense in the country at 49 points per game and left Tuscaloosa with just 14 points, its lowest scoring output since a 28-7 loss to South Carolina on Nov. 9, 2024.

The defense bore the brunt of the criticism for Alabama's season-opening loss and the defeat at Vanderbilt last season. When it mattered most on Saturday, the Alabama defense stepped up and answered the call. Pavia was a media darling after last season's upset, but had to leave Bryant-Denny with his head hung in defeat as "Rammer Jammer" played in the background and the "fire Wommack" tweets went back into the drafts.